Carrier for pneumatic dispatch systems



March 28, 1933. v. H. JACKSON 1,902,

CARRIER FOR PNEUMATIC DISPATCH SYSTEMS Filed Sept. 2, 1951 "-INVENTOR ATTORNEY VICTOR H. JAcKsb/v f Patented Man, 28, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT vIcironv n. JACKSON, 01* METUCHEN, NEW JERSEY, Assieivon so ivnw yonx srocx EXCHANGE, orivnw yonx, N. 11;"

CARRIER ron PNEUMATIC 'nrsrn'rori 'sarsr azirt s Application filed Septerhher 2,}931. Serial No. 560,697. j

This invention relates to an improved form of carrier or" container for'pneumatic dispatch systems in which papers and other small objects are placed in a carrier or container which is transported from place to "place infa system of tubing maintained'under a suitable airpressure, 1 j The use of carriers fabricated from metal, fibre and other materialshas been proposed for these systems and undercertain special conditions suchcarriers have been more or less satisfactory in operation, but Where a large number ofsuch carriers are-required their cost has been prohibitive. In certain other installations, particularly where the carriers are necessarily small and vast quantities of them are necessary, the difficulties attending the use of such carriers haveren dered their use impracticable. These{con-. tainers have heretofore been constructed of e such material that when the carrier is subjected toan'abnormal force, in any manner, it may be, and frequently is,per1nanently deformed. ,Thus a carrier may fall upi on thefioor, and being unnoticed, is stepped upon so as to deform the carrier slightly and make it depart fromits essential cylin-' 'drical cross section. Although this deformation may be so slight as not to be not1ceableupon a hasty examination, it has been p found that when such a carrier is again placed in the systeniit frequently becomes 7 jammed somewhere in the dispatch tubes, and temporarily,'at least, renders that por- 735 tion of the system inoperative and may re sult in considerable lnconvenience and expense. Needless to say,-this' expense isVastly greater than the cost of the'partlcular carrier causing the trouble,

" 40 Heretoforeit has been thought necessary to'provide the ends of'the'carrier With'felt or similar materialadapted'to contact more or less firmly With the inside surface's'of the tubes so as to prevent the passage of air around the carriers, and provide bearing surfaces While keeping the central portion of the carrier of such diameter as would permit it to pass around bendsin thetubes. A binding material is generally used to keep the felt'inrpositionon the carrier: It will i which, as 'before'xsta'ted," may be, and prefless diameter than the inside diameter of "the dispatch tubes. The diameter ;:and length of the-body portion andof thecar-v sharpestfbend in the system;

be appreciated that the construction of such .carriers entails" considerable expense and that a carrier of cheaper fconstructionaand .7 resultlngg in a savmgf noperating' expenses desired. p j

Therefore, the principal objecfio'f thepre"s{ 1 ent invention is" to provide a] unitary carrier of material which does not retain a"perma nent deformation when subject to abnormal and drawing in which a =1 Fig. 1 is a perspective vieW of apreferred embodiment of the invention, a

Fi is a longitudinalcrosssectional vievW-throughthe carrier,'j j Fig: his a cross-sectional v'ew taken" alonggthe line 3- 3 of Fig; :2, and If: 7 Fig. is a longi udinalwcrosssectional view'through a modified; form offca'rrier. In thekdrawingg thei numeral 1 indicates the central or-body-portion of sthecarrier erably is, made "of: Wood, such as, for example, birchl Each-:end of the body p'or; f

tion is provided vvith enlarged portions 2,

formed integral" therewith and of slightly rierin general are inadesuchi'as to permit of the free "passage of the carrier around the :Encircling each of the end portions are.

bands or strips of suitable" fabric ortape I v held thereto by; an adhesive; or by' 'otherf means. .For example,ordinary Inole'skin I "surgical, adhesive tapemay'be satisfactorily employed, or. 'any'tapje of similar nature may forces andin-whichthe"enlarged end'pbr tlons areformed of the "same,"du rable may zuof be used. Eachband acts as a seal to prevent the passage of air between the end portions 2 and theinside surfaces of the dispatch tubes. As shown, the width of each band preferably corresponds with the length of theend portions 2 and thus 'more effectively-prevents leakage ofthe air, beyond the carrier when it travels around a bend when only the extreme ends of the carrier maybe in contact with the tube." 1

A hole 4 of relatively large diameter extends almost, through, the, carrier, leaving only a thin wall or closure 5 formed integrally with the otherparts oi'the car rier, and thus providing therequired space for; the articles to be transported. The

bandsB, of the twoends may suitably be dis-., tinguished by some. external. characteristics,

such ,as icolor, so that the two ends: of: the carrier may be; readily distinguished at a glance Thus the band adjacent the open end ofthe carrier may be red, for; example,

and the band at the closed end white so that the operator in picking up a carrierwhich is, lying on its-side may always place the open endinpositionto receive a slip.

It will .be readily understoodbyone-skille inf the artithat a- ,woodenacarrier of this,

form may be; very easily and cheaply made in. a few operations-and that-being constructed, ofwood, it will not retain apermanent deformation when subjected toap'ressure-but diameter" may be approximately 13/16 a while theoverall length of the carrier may will either return to itsoriginal. form or, if the force applied be large enough, be

crushed and rendered 1158'. r o r V:

A typical carrier of thetype' just described incapable I of- :further may "have an outside diameter. at the reducedcentral portion ;0f,. say 61/64" while the outside diameter of -the wooden? portions at: theends may be 1 1/32; The inside Such a carrier is readilyadaptedto conveyslips 3 /j'by4 or even. somewhatilarger-since the slip's,,may: extend; a

short distance beyond theendxof the car-' "rlerwithout any difiiculty.

Referring now; toLFigLe, there, isshown aqslightly modified formof carrier. In lieu oiprovidingthe carrier, with a ;reduced cen-.

tral portionlandw enlarged ends, itrmay have substantially the same outside diameter h s gh ut, insofarqas the vwood, structure isc'oncerned. A. slight; reduction in the di ametersh'ould, however, be made at onelend sogas toallow the carrier to; readily travel around thebends in a line.; The reduced portion 6, which may conveniently extendfor ab0ut: of an inch-,fis-preferably located ends ofthecarrier. I .3 I Ithas been found from actualtestsconportions of the first form of carrier disclosed. At the reduced end portion the outside diameter may suitably be 1/32 of an inch less than for the main portion; the wall thickness throughout the main part may satisfactorilybe 'made 5/64,.016 an inch or possibly even 3/32 of an inch. suitably have a thickness of about. 3/16 of an inch. 'A sturdier construction is thus produced, one Whichwill resist to a greater degree the use and abuse to which these carriers are subjected- Furthermore, this type of carrier is somewhat simpler to manufacture than the first'form since there is only a slightly reduced portion at one-end, )The may be applied'in'thesame way .to'thetwo ducted over av period of a number of months that the average life-ofgthe-imp'rovedWooden carriers is: greater than that of fibre carriers. Fewer replacementshave been required due to breakage or loss. duringthe period of :3 these tests than has beenrequired during like tween the diameters of the central and end I The base 7 may tapes 9and 10, preferably of different. colors, i

periods when only the fibretype carriers i have been employed. QFurthermore,-due to the-lighter weight of'the wooden carriers,

they have been found to requireless pressure 1' anda correspondingly lower consumptionof electrical power for drivingthe compressors than 1s: requlred when. fibre; carriers are;e1n

ployed. It hasalsobeenfound thatfthe-new 7 carriers serve to assistmaterially in-cleaning f and polishing the interior of the tubes.

use of wood since carriers; may bemade from other materials which possess-the desired qualitieswithout departingfrom the spirit and scope of the present invention,

What Iclaim is:' a

terns, comprising: a substantially cylindrical bodyportion, enlarged endportions adapted tolsupport the carrier within the tubing of iThe invention is not to;be limitedto the 1; Acarrierfor'pneumaticdispatch: sysr the system, a closure at one end, said end portions, and closure being formed integral with said body portion, said'carrier beingof material which does notretain a permanent deformation when subjected to pressure, and

means encircling said end portions to prevent the passage ofarc aroundjsald carrier.

2. A carrier fon pneumatic dispatch sys-f tems, comprising a substantially; cylindrical body portion, enlarged end portions adapted v to support the carrier within the tubing of the system, a closureat one end-,said end portionsxand closure being formed-integral with said body portion, said carrier beingof material which does'notret'ain a permanent fabric bands suitably secured to," andencircling said enlarged portions to-prevent the: passage of air around'fsaid carrier,-.the

deformation whensubjected to pressure, and

width of said bands being substantially equal to the length of said end portions,

3. As an article of manufacture, a carrier device'for a pneumatic tube system comprising a cylindrical shell formed of material such as wood of suchthickness and brittleness that when sufficient force is applied thereto to deform the same permanent l ly and materially the shell will be fractured,

and a band of adhesive tape directly affixed to said shell adjacent either end.

" ness than when suflicient force is applied thereto to deform the same permanently andv 4:. A carrier for a pneumatic tube system comprising a cylindrical shell formed of Wood and having a band of adhesive tape directly a-flixed thereto adjacent each end, one end of said shell being of smaller external diameter than the other end. i

5. Acarrierc for a pneumatic tube system" comprising a cylindrical shell formed of Wood and having a band of adhesive tape directly aflixed thereto adjacent each end,

a'portion of said shell having a reduced external diameter.

6. As an article of manufacture, a carrier device for a pneumatic tube system compris V f ing a cylindrical shell formed of material such as wood of such thickness and brittlematerially the shell will be fractured.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name ,to this specification this thirty-first day of August, 1931. p

vrcron JACKSON. 

